Inter Milan battle Bayern Munich for a quarter final spot - UEFA Champions League Match Preview
Inter Milan play host to Bayern Munich on 23rd February, 2011 at San Siro as the finalists of last year’s UEFA Champions League compete once again but this time for a place in the quarter finals of Europe’s primary cup competition. It is now time
to shed some light on how both the teams are expected to line up against each other on Wednesday night.
Inter Milan
Resurgent in the Serie A after the departure of Rafael Benitez early on in 2011, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan now turn their attention to the defence of their European crown under Jose Mourinho’s impervious management. The Nerazzurri qualified after placing second in their
group earlier on in the UEFA Champions League season, following their embarrassing defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Last year in the UEFA Champions League final, Inter Milan easily disposed of Louis Van Gaal’s team as they ended up two nil winners. After suffering a solitary defeat in their last five competitive fixtures, Inter Milan is in prime form at the moment. With
the wind at their back, Leonardo’s men will be confident of a win on their home turf in the first leg of this tough tie against the German league champions.
Bayern Munich
Die Roten won their last league encounter against Mainz by three goals to one but now the focus shifts towards the UEFA Champions League, which has not been won by the German giants in the past 10 years. Bayern are in a good shape and have lost just a single
match in their last five competitive encounters. However, Bayern Munich’s defence has been especially leaky as they have conceded five goals in their last four matches in the Bundesliga.
Last time Bayern Munich achieved a win over Inter Milan was in the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League season when the Bavarian behemoths defeated the Italian giants at San Siro in the group stages of the tournament. Nonetheless, with the tie against Leonardo’s
rejuvenated squad looming large, Van Gaal will be expecting his German outfit to step up to the plate once again in order to prove their critics wrong.
Team News
Inter Milan have several injury issues with their squad. Lúcio and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Walter-Samuel-c36618, Inter’s first team center backs, both missed their team’s last league fixture against Cagliari but they are expected to be fit for the encounter against Bayern Munich. However,
it is a touch and go situation with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-Milito-c11166. The Argentinean target man is due to miss the match against Bayern with a knee injury which has plagued him throughout the 2010-2011 Serie A season.
Inter’s January transfer window signing http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giampaolo-Pazzini-c14802 is cup tied thus he won’t be able to play for the men in blue and black in the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League due to his participation in the competition with his previous club, Sampdoria.
Expected Inter Milan line up: http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wesley-Sneijder-c36799, Samuel Eto, Coutinho
Bayern Munich will be hoping that Arjen Robben retains his fitness levels for yet another European tie. The Dutch winger suffered from a broken finger last week but played at the weekend for the German champions, thus he is fit enough to feature yet again
in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night. Additionally, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ivica-Olic-c17399 is a long term injury casualty for Bayern Munich.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-Contento-c11113 are both recovering from their respective fitness problems as well thus the best that both the youngsters can hope for is a place on the Bayern Munich bench at San Siro.
Expected Bayern Munich line up: Butt, Lahm, Badstuber, Van Buyten, Gustavo Dias, Schweinsteiger, Mueller, Robben, Ribery, Mario Gomez, Pranjic
Key Players
Inter Milan will be banking on the goal scoring services of Samuel Eto. Currently one of the top scorers in the UEFA Champions League with seven goals in the tournament already, Eto is expected to find the back of the net against Bayern Munich at San Siro
on 23rd of February, 2011.
On the other hand, Bayern will hope for another magical away performance by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arjen-Robben-c6521. The ex-Real Madrid winger recently made a full comeback from a lengthy thigh injury. He should be rested up and raring to go for the Bavarian giants.
Prediction
This match is an extremely hard one to call. Bayern Munich have a very good attacking line up but they lack solidity in defence. Inter Milan are a balanced side but none of their on-the-field departments stand out when compared to their opponents. Prediction:
1-1
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